INTRODUCTION: We conducted this study to examine the effect of the ICD on the outcomes of patients with prior coronary revascularization enrolled in the Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial (SCD-HeFT) and to assess the association of time from coronary revascularization to enrollment with death and sudden cardiac death (SCD). METHODS AND RESULTS: We included in this analysis patients with ischemic heart disease not randomized to the amiodarone arm. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the association of prior CABG and of prior PCI with each outcome. Interactions between randomized treatment and each revascularization type and time were tested in each model. Of the 882 patients who met these inclusion criteria, 255 (29%) had no prior revascularization, 178 (20%) had prior PCI only, 284 (32%) had prior CABG only, and 165 (19%) had prior PCI and CABG. There was no significant difference in ICD benefit across the revascularization subgroups (all P > 0.1). There was a trend toward improved survival with an ICD in patients who had their CABG > 2 years before randomization (HR [CI] = 0.71 [0.49, 1.04]) that was not observed in patients who had their CABG < or = 2 years before randomization (HR [CI] = 1.40 [0.61, 3.24]). CONCLUSION: In SCD-HeFT, there was no significant difference in ICD benefit across the revascularization subgroups. Patients who had their CABG > 2 years before randomization showed a trend toward improved survival with an ICD that was not observed in patients who had their CABG < or = 2 years before randomization.